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Mollie Tibbetts case: Man charged with murder pleads not guilty

Cristhian Rivera, the man accused of killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts earlier this summer, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges.

A trial date has been set for April 16, 2019.

Tibbetts went missing on July 18. Her body was found on Aug. 21 near her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa. That same day, Rivera was charged with murder.

Rivera is an undocumented immigrant who lived and worked in the area for about four years. Police claim he confessed to following her with his car while she jogged the night of her death.

Cristhian Bahena-Rivera has entered a plea of NOT GUILTY to the charge of first-degree murder. Judge Joel Yates has set trial date for April 16, 2019, with a pre-trial conference set for April 4, 2019.